I’ve predicted that a long period of deflation in the Western world would end with a Fed taper, rate hikes and quantitative tightening.
That’s clearly in play now, and the deregulation of America’s thousands of small banks is perhaps the most exciting event taking place on this new “inflationary frontier”. Because of these powerful monetary trends, I’ve predicted big problems ahead for Wall Street and somewhat better times for Main Street.
Having said, that, I think investors would be making aWednesday, December 13, 2017

Dictatorship (noun): Definition #3: absolute power or authority (Websters); Def. #2: absolute, imperious or overbearing power or control (Random House);Def. #3: Absolute or despotic control or power (American Heritage);Def. #3: Absolute or supreme power or authority (Collins English Dictionary);Def. #1: A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or small clique (Wikipedia).“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battleSunday, December 10, 2017

(This item originally appeared at Forbes.com on December 7, 2017.)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/12/07/what-is-the-fundamental-value-of-bitcoin/#6effe03f545a
What is the fundamental value of bitcoin? It seems that even the Bitcoin enthusiasts themselves have trouble answering this question. Bitcoin does not have any assets, cashflow, cost of production or final consumptive demand, the traditional basis of most asset valuation techniques.
The market price of anything is determineSaturday, December 9, 2017

Consider graphs of three markets from the past. These are well known and important markets, but the names, prices and time scales are not shown. They are plotted on linear scales. Note:
Structure: Each market moved progressively more vertical before crashing.
Bubble: Each market bubbled upward to an unsustainable level and collapsed.
Timing: Few predicted the dates or prices for these bubble tops, but many observed their bubble characteristics.
The Public: The charts show that each market movedFriday, December 8, 2017

For the past few weeks I’ve suggested that a modest US dollar rally against the yen (and thus gold) was due…and now it’s here!
The dollar’s right shoulder rally fits with the US senate’s decision to finally pass some corporate tax cuts. That’s modestly good news for “risk-on” investors.
It’s modest because it comes at a late stage in the business cycle. Many institutional money managers are trimming US stock market holdings. They are investing the proceeds into key Asian markets where corporWednesday, December 6, 2017

GOLD PRICES slipped near 1-month lows against a rising US Dollar in London trade on Tuesday, drifting back to $1273 per ounce as world stock markets followed Wall Street lower after Monday's drop.
Commodities fell as major government bond prices edged longer-term interest rates higher.
"Gold should encounter significant support at $1269/67 and a rebound should follow once these levels are met," Tuesday, December 5, 2017

One of the most notable events in Russia’s precious metals market calendar is the annual “Russian Bullion Market” conference. Formerly known as the Russian Bullion Awards, this conference, now in its 10th year, took place this year on Friday 24 November in Moscow. Among the speakers lined up, the most notable inclusion was probably Sergey Shvetsov, First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s central bank, the Bank of Russia.
In his speech, Shvetsov provided an update on an important development involving Monday, December 4, 2017

Not since 2010 has gold moved to the upside as it is moving in 2017.
The good news is it is being overshadowed by all the noise being made by
cryptocurrencies and bitcoin in particular. Some in the gold community
are upset about cryptos stealing all the headlines; not me, however. I love
visiting websites and YouTube channels that have comments that read
something like “
gold went up $6 today while bitcoin went up $600 – sale all your bitcoin and buy gold“.
Of course this is intended as sWednesday, November 29, 2017

My guess is it will take Russia and China and the other BRICS nations
most of 2018 to get all the nuances worked out and the gold trade
settlement contracts will not actually come to the table until 2019 or
possibly even 2020. We say this in light of what happened with the
Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) bringing their
gold settlement mechanism online back in April 2016.
The SGE was supposed to bring this online in October 2015, but was unable
to make it happen as they wished to avoid any mWednesday, November 29, 2017

The big picture for gold continues to strengthen.
In 2016 gold began the year at about $1100, soared $300 an ounce to about $1400, but then it gave back about $250, and ended the year at about $1150 with only a $50 gain.
That price action fit perfectly with my 2014 – 2017 theme of “rough sideways action, initially with a downside bias that develops into an upside bias”.
The year 2018 should see solid Chindian demand, a reversal in US money velocity, and a peak in mine supply. That should pushWednesday, November 29, 2017

http://tass.com/economy/977276
MOSCOW -- BRICS countries are discussing the possibility of establishing a single gold trade system, First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Central Bank Sergey Shvetsov said Friday.
"The traditional (trade) system based in London and partially in Swiss cities is becoming less relevant, as new trade hubs are emerging, first of all in India, China and South Africa." Shvetsov said. "We are discussing the possibility to establish a single (system of) gold trade both within Sunday, November 26, 2017

In 1981, a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl, her parents and nine brothers and sisters began preparing for a perilous journey, a journey they knew they might not survive.
Since the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, life had been hard for the little girl’s family. The Communist government of North Vietnam inherited a country deeply divided, devastated by war, and on the verge of economic collapse. In an attempt to unify the country, the government instituted a centrally pSaturday, November 25, 2017

GOLD BULLION slipped against a falling US Dollar on Friday, heading for a 0.3% weekly drop as the US Thanksgiving holidays left world stockmarkets to edge higher and diplomatic tensions worsened further between Turkey and Washington.
With the Dollar dropping again on the FX market, gold trading in London – center of the global wholesale market – saw the metal drop hard against all other major Western currencies.
Friday, November 24, 2017

GOLD PRICES recovered two-thirds of this week's earlier 1.3% drop against the Dollar on Wednesday, trading up to $1286 per ounce as Asian demand edged premiums in China and India higher, and world stock markets rose yet again.
Government bond prices sat tight, keeping 10-year US Treasury yields unchanged at 2.36%, in the middle of the last month's range.
Crypto-currency Bitcoin slipped 2.0% fromWednesday, November 22, 2017

Precious, base and energy metals are all benefiting from the commodity supercycle, says Louis James, editor of International Speculator, who also discusses his Golden Runway theory of price appreciation and talks about a handful of companies that he believes are on the rise.
The Gold Report: Louis, would you talk about the commodity supercycle and where you see it at this point?
Louis James: The data continue to support the commodity supercycle hypothesWednesday, November 22, 2017

Gold surged higher on Friday. Then it gave all the gains back yesterday. Looking beyond this short-term noise, gold is not an exciting market right now. What could make that change?
Gold is trading in a rough sideways trend with an upside bias. This bias continues to strengthen, albeit very slowly. The technical action reflects the fundamentals and liquidity flows and clearly, patience.
I jokingly refer to the SPDR fund as “Spider Man”. Chindian demand is decent, but Spider Man looks like Wednesday, November 22, 2017

– Gold versus Bitcoin: The pro-gold argument takes shape
– Why cryptocurrencies will not replace gold as a store of value
– Similarities between crypto and gold but that does not make them substitutes
– Gold remains a highly liquid market, cryptocurrencies continue to be fragmented and difficult to spend
– Bitcoin does not make it an effective hedge against stocks
This weekend saw bitcoin shoot up over $8,000 and Bloomberg covered how some preppers were turning to bitcoin over gold. Does this mTuesday, November 21, 2017

Sound money advocates who love the concept of cryptocurrencies but
don’t want to abandon precious metals have been trying to clarify their
thoughts of late. Risk Hedge just helped, with a comprehensive statement
of the pro-gold position. The following is an excerpt. Read the full
article
here.
All the Reasons Cryptocurrencies Will Never Replace Gold as Your Financial Hedge
Despite what the crypto-evangelists will tell you, digital tokens will never and can never replace gold as your finMonday, November 20, 2017